The Recensions of the Qur'an · having added something to the Qur'an. He himself knew the verse,...

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TTHHEE

RREECCEENNSSII OONNSS OOFF TTHHEE QQUURR''AANN

BY

THE REV. CANON SELL, D.D., M.R.A.S.

Fellow of the University of Madras

CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY

LONDON, MADRAS AND COLOMBO

1909

PRINTED AT THE S. P. C. K. PRESS, VEPERY, MADRAS

1909

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www.muhammadanism.org December 19, 2005

http://www.muhammadanism.org/

2

The following is the scheme of diacritical points now adopted by the C.L.S. for the transliteration of Arabic and Persian words:—

th for ث ṭ for ط

ḥ " ح z ظ "

kh " ع " ، خ

dh " ذ gh " غ

ṣ " ص q " ق

ḍ " ء " , ض

3

CORRIGENDA

Page 6 note 3 for ر�� read ��

7 2 " Safá " Ṣafá

12 line 19 " at " as

12 note 1 " Khaldún " Khaldún

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

6 The Doubt of 'Umar

8 The Recension of Uthman

11 Curious Letters

12 The Seven Dialects

15 Disapproval of Uthman's Recension

16 Shi'ah Objections

19 Sura of the Two Lights

24 Shi'ah Claim Untenable

5

THE

RECENSIONS OF THE QUR'AN

THE various portions which now form the Qur'an were recited by the Prophet during a period of twenty-three years, but during his lifetime they were never collected together or systematically arranged. Passages were written on palm leaves, leather, and on such other materials as came to hand, by individual hearers, but these were all disconnected and had no special authority. The great storehouse of the Qur'an was the marvellous memory of the Arab people. It was recited again and again at each act of worship, and it was held in such reverence that the committal of it to memory was an act of the highest virtue.

We owe the Qur'an as we now have it to two recensions, made by the first and third Khalifas, Abu Bakr and 'Uthman. At the battle of Yemana, probably within a year of the death of the Prophet, when the usurper Musailama was overthrown, a great many of the Qur'an reciters were slain, and 'Umar, afterwards the second Khalifa, began to fear lest the true text should be lost. Mirkhond says: 'when Abu Bakr received the news of the battle he thought that in course of time the words of the Lord Most High might be blotted out from the minds of the people and so ordered the Qur'an to be published.'1 There is a well authenticated tradition by Zaid ibn Thabit which records 'Umar's speech: 'I fear,' he said to Abu Bakr, 'that the battle may again wax hot amongst the Qur'an reciters in other fields of battle, and that much may be lost therefrom; now, therefore, my advice is that thou shouldst give speedy orders for the collection of the Qur'an.' This advice approved itself to the Khalifa. He then summoned to his presence Zaid, who had been an amanuensis of the Prophet and had a great reputation for his knowledge of the Qur'an. He said to him: 'Thou art a young man

1 Raudatu's-Safa. Part ii, vol. iii, p. 141.

6 THE RECENSIONS OF THE QUR'AN

and wise; against whom no one amongst us can cast an imputation; and thou wert wont to write down the inspired revelations of the Prophet of the Lord, wherefore now search out the Qur'an and bring it all together.1 Zaid collected it from the passages written as we have described, from all who could remember any portion, and when the whole was completed it was probably given to the Khalifa Abu Bakr. It then came into the possession of the Khalifa 'Umar who gave it to his daughter Hafasa, one of the widows of Muhammad. This edition was for ten years the only one in full use.

Zaid was assisted by Anas bin Malik and others and the work whilst in progress was superintended by 'Umar, who it is said accepted nothing as part of the Qur'an which had not been written down and which was not testified to by two persons. A case in point is the stoning verse, 'The married man and the married woman when they commit adultery then stone them without doubt.'2 'Umar, said he could not vouch for this, but that he would have inserted it had he not feared that he might be charged with having added something to the Qur'an. He himself knew the verse, but could not find corroborative testimony.3 The punishment decreed in the Qur'an for adultery is one hundred stripes,4 but as a matter of fact stoning is the Muhammadan legal punishment for adultery and no other basis for it is known except this verse which 'Umar withdrew. This seems to show that he had good authority for his statement. Anyhow its omission shows the care taken with this recension.

In the arrangement of the Qur'an, Zaid seems to have had original passages before him and to have put them together without much regard to the sense. Thus we have

1 Syuti, History of the Khalifas (Calcutta ed.), p. 78. ر�� ه� ا�� 2� .�وا�� وا�� إذا ز��

3 See Nöldeke, Geschichte des Qorāns, p. 194. Margoliouth states that 'Ayesha said that this verse, in which stoning was enjoined as a punishment for adultery, was on a slip (of parchment) deposited under her bed and was afterwards lost.--Mohammed, p. 219. In commentating on Sura al-Ma'ida (v) 18, in which the Jews are charged with concealing their Scriptures, Husain and Baidawi say that one of the matters concealed was the ��-the verse of stoning'—which was in the Pentateuch. —Tafsir-i'— �� ا��Husaini, vol. i, p. 140. Baidawi, vol. i, p. 251.

4 Sura an-Nur (xxiv) 1. This and the succeeding four verses are said to have abrogated the verse of stoning which 'Umar hesitated to put permanently in the Qur'an.

THE DOUBT OF 'UMAR 7

the name Suhuf, 'loose leaves'; and Suras, 'the rows,' the name now given to the various chapters. A tradition recorded by ibn 'Aliya says: 'Zaid after much labour compiled the Qur'an without any order of Suras.' Some orthodox Muslims hold that the present form was ordained by God, and follows an arrangement made by the Companions of the Prophet; in which case it is difficult to see the need of Abu Bakr's recension.

It is said by the German critic, Weil, that Abu Bakr altered some passages. Thus Weil adduces the tradition that 'Umar would not believe that the Prophet was dead and vehemently expressed his doubts, until Abu Bakr recited some passages from the Qur'an on the subject of the death of Muhammad. Weil considers that 'Umar and other Muslims did not know of these passages and that Abu Bakr invented them. But Nöldeke,1 Muir, and other competent critics think that this is a gratuitous assumption without the least foundation in fact.

The circumstances are these: 'Umar, on seeing the placid countenance of the Prophet, said: 'He is not dead, he hath only swooned away.' To one who tried to convince him he replied, 'Thou liest, the Apostle of God is not dead . . . . the Prophet of the Lord shall not die, until he has rooted out every hypocrite and unbeliever.'2 In words similar to these he addressed the crowd which had now gathered together. Then Abu Bakr said: 'Silence! 'Umar, sit thee down, be quiet. Hath not the Almighty revealed this verse to the Prophet, saying, "Verily thou shalt die and they shall die."'3 And again, after the battle of Uhud, the revelation came, 'Muhammad is no more than an Apostle: other Apostles have already passed away before him. If he die, therefore, or be killed, will ye turn4 upon your heels?5 Let him then know, whosoever worshippeth Muhammad, that Muhammad is dead.' Then 'Umar was satisfied. There are also other passages which speak of death, such as: 'Have we granted to man before thee a life that

1 See Geschichte des Qorāns, p. 197. 2 Raudatu's-Safa. Part ii, vol. iii, p. 730. � ن 3#��$ �%� .Sura Az-Zumar (xxxix) 31[30]— إ��) $�#� وإ�4 i.e. return to idolatry. A report had been spread in the battle of Uhud that Muhammad was slain.

5 )$ ت أو -�, ا�+*��و$��6 إ8� ر1 ل -6 5*� $4 -�*3 ا��12, أ0�ن $� �9: .;*> أ;+Sura Ali 'Imran (iii) 138[144].


shall last for ever; if thou then die, shall they live for ever? Every soul shall taste of death.'1 'Every soul shall taste of death: then to us shall ye return.'2 Abu Bakr must, therefore, be pronounced innocent of the fraud charged upon him, for it is unreasonable to suppose that he interpolated them all.

Weil also considers that verse fourteen of Sura al-Ahqaf (xlvi) is an interpolation: 'We have commanded man to show kindness to his parents, his mother beareth him and bringeth him forth with pain, and his bearing and his weaning is thirty months; until when he attaineth strength and the age of forty years, he saith, "0 Lord give me inspiration, that I may be grateful for Thy favour wherewith thou hast favoured me and my parents."' According to the commentator Husain, Abu Bakr embraced Islam in his thirty-eighth year. His parents were also converted, and in his fortieth year he said: '0 Lord give me inspiration that I may be grateful.' Thus this verse has been supposed to refer to him, but this by no means proves that he interpolated it, for had he wished to introduce a verse about himself he surely would have invented one far less obscure. This charge then may be dismissed as having no basis in fact.

Although the recension thus made under the direction of Abu Bakr was of the nature of a private undertaking, and too much importance ought not to be attached to it, yet it was of great value as forming the basis for the authoritative recension of the Khalifa 'Uthman. Some authorities consider it uncertain whether Zaid completed his work before the death of Abu Bakr or not, and the fact that the work when finished was handed over to Hafasa, the daughter of 'Umar, would imply that Abu Bakr was now dead. In any case the private nature of the undertaking is evident.

With the great mass of the people there was no critical study of the Qur'an, for they were far too busy with the

� $#4 -�*) ا��*6 أ0�ن $#�� %� ا��6�ون آ,2 �@? ذا=+� 1�� B*C� . ا�� ت$

Sura al-Anbiya' (xxi) 35-6[34-5]. The phrase 4�$ (�*�- —'before thee'—is ambiguous and it might seem to imply that Muhammad was

different to those gone before and would not die, but the Commentators do not so interpret it and deduce from the whole passage the universality of death.

نـآ,2 �@? ذا=+� ا�� 2C��E B��إ ��F ت —Sura al-'Ankabut (xxix) 51[57].

THE RECENSION OF 'UTHMAN 9

ceaseless fighting that went on, and in the accumulation of booty. The result was that they went on reciting the Qur'an as they had been accustomed to do and paid little attention to Zaid's arrangement, and many knew very little about it. After the battle of Qadisiya (A.D. 636), 'Umar ordered the leader of the victorious army to divide the booty amongst the warriors who were best acquainted with the Qur'an. One was called up and he replied that he had been so engaged in fighting that he did not know anything by heart. Another said that he only knew the 'Bismillah'— 'In the name of God most merciful and compassionate.' As time went on, even amongst professed scholars, discrepancies arose, and those who, in their several districts, were looked upon as authorities maintained the superiority of the readings they favoured and quarrels commenced on the subject. The inhabitants of Hims stood by the readings of al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad; the Kufites by those of ibn Mas'ud;1 the Basrites by those of Abu Musa, and so on.2 The consequences threatened to be very serious, for men wondered how there could be different texts, as the Qur'an sent down by God was one, and so the Khalifa 'Uthman determined to bring out a new and authoritative recension. He appointed Zaid, who was a native of Madina, and some learned men amongst the Quraish3 to do the work. They took Abu Bakr's compilation as the basis of the new book, and collected all the copies they could get. When they had finished the work, 'Uthman destroyed all the books of the old edition he could get, except the copy which belonged to Hafasa. This, however, was destroyed soon after by Manoan, the Governor of Madina. The edition now authorized was sent forth into all the provinces as the only recognized book.

In the case of any difference of opinion Zaid had to give way, and the final decision lay with the Quraish members of the revision committee, or with the Khalifa himself. Thus

1 One of the Prophet's sayings is thus recorded: 'Whosoever wishes to recite the Qur'an correctly and with elegance let him follow the reading of ibn Mas'ud.' Ibn Mas'ud refused at first to give up his copy to the revision committee. The Khalifa ordered him to be beaten, from the effects of which he died.— Journal Asiatique , Décembre 1843, p. 385.

Mirza Alexander Kazem Beg, Observations sur le Chapitre inconnu du Coran, publié et traduit par M. Garcin de Tassy, Journal Asiatique, quatrième série, tome II, Imprimerie Royale, Paris; 1843, pp. 377- 446, [Remarks on the Unknown Chapter of the Qu'ran, published and translated by Mr. Garcin de Tassy]

Shi'ite literature confirms that 'Uthman had Ibn Mas'ud beaten causing his ribs to be broken. The Unknown Chapter of the Qur'an refers to the Sura an-Nurain, or 'Two Lights.' See page 19.

2 Nöldeke gives an excellent account of the way in which these differences arose.—Geschichte des Qorāns, pp. 280-5.

3 This was the Meccan tribe or family to which the Prophet belonged.


the Qur'an was preserved in the Meccan dialect. An example of the Khalifa's interference is given in the tradition which records that 'Ali wished to write ة :�E with ت as ت the others with ة:�E and 'Uthman decided in favour of the latter, as being according to the Quraish dialect. This is rather an unfortunate illustration, as ت :�E is not an Arabic word, but was borrowed by Muhammad from the Rabbinical Hebrew.1 All the various traditions on such points are intended to show that the recension is according to the Meccan dialect, the language of Gabriel and of Muhammad. It is said by some that the Khalifa had a political motive in his action in this matter, and that he hoped that the settling of doubt as to the Qur'anic text and the production of an authorized edition, would raise him in the estimation of the true believers and so strengthen his party against their adversaries, who were numerous and powerful. This may be so, but he had the support and sanction of the Companions of the Prophet, for without their assent and co-operation it could not have been done. It is evident that the Khalifa collected all the revelations he could procure, and exercised care and caution. Ibn Zubair says: 'I read to 'Uthman the verse, "Such of you as shall die and leave wives shall bequeath their wives a year's maintenance without causing them to quit their homes"2; but the phrase "quit their homes" is abrogated by other verses,3 so why have you written it?' Then 'Uthman said, 'O my nephew, leave it, I will not change anything from its place.'

The present form of the Qur'an was established by Zaid and his coadjutors. They retained the Bismillah, except at the heading of Sura at-Tauba (ix). The reason they gave for this was that they were in considerable doubt as to whether Suras viii and ix should not come together. At last they finally agreed to separate them, but omitted the Bismillah, as that is a very definite sign of separation. Its absence shows that there was some doubt about the division into two Suras. The arrangement of the Suras is quite arbitrary and depends on no principle at all. Many Suras are very composite. Probably the people could not tell Zaid

1 See Geiger's Judaism and Islam (S.P.C.K., Madras), p. 31, and Nöldeke's Geschichte des Qorāns,

p. 211. 2 Sura al-Baqara (ii) 240. 3 e.g., v. 234, which limits the obligation to four months and ten days.

CURIOUS LETTERS 11

when various parts which they brought to his notice were revealed, and so the portions got mixed up together without any regard to dates or place. Thus when Muhammad bin Sirin asked 'Akrama whether the Qur'an was to be in chronological order, he said: 'Collect it just as it came down, first portion first, second second, and so on; if men and genii tried they could not do it in this order.'

In fact, the age and the men were uncritical, and the only apparent rule followed was to arrange the portions of a Sura in the best way possible and then to put the longer Suras first in order and the shorter ones last, without any reference to chronological sequence.

Some of the Suras have single letters prefixed to them, the meanings of which it is impossible to determine. These are the letters A.L.M.; A.L.M.R.; A.L.R.; Ta. Ha.; Kaf, Ha Ya, 'Ain, Sad.1 This latter set occurs in the beginning of Sura Maryam (xix) which contains the histories of John the Baptist and of Christ, and which was recited to the King of Abyssinia in the presence of the ambassadors whom Muhammad sent to him. This had led Dr. Sprenger to suppose that these mystic words stand for a Christian symbol, just as the letters I.N.R.I. stand for Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judæorum. So he would make out of these letters the following sentence:

صارى ملك اليهوديينعيسى الن

In Arabic, it is not necessary to use the first letter of a word for an abbreviation.2 The most prominent letter in a word can be taken, so Dr. Sprenger takes ص ع J and ي and supposes the words were written thus and were read, as legends on coins are, read, from below, thus:—

رى = ص L�; and> = عNBا� that is, Jesus the Nazarene.

J = *$P and دي = ي %� that is, King of the Jews.3

This is very curious but not at all probable. Ibn Khaldun says: 'God has placed these letters in several Suras to show the impossibility of imitating the style of the Qur'an. He also says

1 RC�%3 آS �� .

2 Thus �5� is represented by خ in ا�� , which is equivalent to κ τ λ. 3 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 20, p. 280.


that Zamakhshari considered that these letters indicated that the style of the Qur'an was perfect and that imitation was defied.1 This is in accordance with the idea that just as men know these letters but can make nothing out of them, so no one can compose anything equal to the Qur'an. Several explanations are given by Sale in the preliminary discourse to his translation of the Qur'an. Nöldeke considers them to have been private marks of the owners put on the copies lent to Zaid, which have inadvertently crept into the text.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is incorruptible—'a book whose verses are established in wisdom, and then set forth with clearness'2; but the fact that Uthman and his company of revisers had to consider a variety of readings, to weigh their authority, and if necessary to discard them in favour of the Meccan readings, caused no small scandal. But a way was found out of the difficulty. Abu ibn Ka'b, one of the Companions, became so famous as a reciter of the Qur'an that the Prophet himself said: 'Read the Qur'an under ibn Ka'b.' Ibn Ka'b one day stated that, scandalized at man after man who entered the Mosque repeated the Qur'an in different ways, he spoke to Muhammad about it. The Prophet said: 'O Abu ibn Ka'b! intelligence was sent to me to read the Qur'an in one dialect, and I was attentive to the Court of God, and said: "Make easy the reading of the Qur'an to my sects." Then instructions were sent to me a second time saying,

"Read the Qur'an in two dialects." Then I turned myself to the Court of God, saying, "Make easy the reading of the Qur'an to my sects." Then a voice was sent to me the third time, saying, "Read the Qur'an in seven dialects."' There is also a tradition that 'Umar said: 'During the lifetime of the Prophet I heard a man read a chapter of the Qur'an. I heard the readings which he followed, and, as they were different from those which I knew and which I had heard from the mouth of the Prophet, I feared the namaz would be spoilt. At the close of the prayers I was angry with him and struck him a blow, and demanded to know where he had heard these readings. He declared that he had heard them from Muhammad. We then went to the Prophet to settle the dispute.

1 Ibn Khaldun (de Slane's translation), vol. iii, pp. 68-9. 2 �*#N� ��F 3E�� 9Xب أ .Sura Hud (xi.) 1 — آ�

THE SEVEN DIALECTS 13

He said they were correct and added, "In truth, the Qur'an is revealed in seven dialects, read it in as many ways as you can."'1 This removed all difficulty, and the foresight displayed by the Prophet in thus obtaining a divine sanction for the various ways of reading the Qur'an was looked upon as a proof of his inspiration. Thus arose the 'qira'atu's-sab'a,' or 'seven readings' of the Qur'an now recognized. These are called after seven men famous as Qur'an readers, and as 'Uthman's Qur'an had no vowel points, great opportunities for differences in pronunciation arose. In course of time public opinion fixed on two of the styles as most appropriate, and now these are in actual use. The reading-style of Hafs, a disciple of Imam 'Asim, is followed in India, and that of Nafi in Africa and Arabia.2

The fact that 'Uthman, when his own recension was complete, burnt all the copies of the older edition he could find was made the basis of a charge of the alteration of the original text.3 He defended himself thus: 'They say that I burnt the Qur'an. I did it because it was in small portions in the hands of men and every one said, "I have the best one." I collected them all, placed a long Sura first, a medium length one

1 Journal Asiatique , Décembre 1843, p. 378. This tradition concerning the 'seven readings' is

referred to in well-known books thus: �ف �Xأ �C��1 <�*; ن��-The Qur'an was revealed in seven readings' (words).—Mishkatu'l'— أ��]ل ا�+�

Masabih. ت أ��]ل ا��\� �C��1 <��*; ن��+ —'The Qur'an was revealed in seven dialects.'—Majma'u'l-Ghara'ib.

�ف آ*% آف [فXأ �C�1 <*; ن�� The Qur'an descended with seven readings, all perfect and'— �]ل ا�+sacred,—Majma'u'l-Bihar. It is said that the seven dialects were those of the Quraish, Hawadhin, Tai, Hazil, Himyar, Shaqif, and Yaman.

�ب ـ�9^�3 -ل 1Cت ا�� وF+�`آ�_ �\��Xو ,�aوه b�Sازن و .ا��وا��4 +��c وه Others say that the 'seven readings' represent seven different copies, of which two were in use in

Madina, one in Mecca, one in Kufa, one in Basra, one in Syria, and one called the 'common edition' which is the one now in use. Mirza Kazim Beg points out that this last explanation is untenable, as the seven different copies did not come into existence until after the death of the Prophet.

2 A fuller account of these Qaris, or Qur'an Readers, and the 'various readings' which they have introduced will be found in Sell's Faith of Islam (3rd ed.), pp. 63-5, 398-405.

3 The Shi'ahs considered this burning of the Qur'an to be a great crime. —Haqqu'l-Yaqin, quoted in Journal Asiatique , Décembre, 1843 p. 384.


the middle, and a short one at the end, arranged all well and handed them over to men; but the Qur'ans which they had I collected and burnt.'1 The probability is that 'Uthman made the best recension then possible, but there are traditions regarding other forms of the book, for they did not all become extinct at once. Of these the most important are those of Ubai ibn Ka'b and of Ibn Mas'ud. Ubai is said to have brought together Suras (cv) and (cvi), contrary to the sense. He varies the order of the Suras and is said to have added two new ones, called Sura al-Khala' and Sura al-Hafd, or, as it is also called, Sura al-Qanut. These are:

'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

'O God we pray Thee for help and forgiveness. we praise Thee and are not unthankful towards Thee, and we let go and forsake every one who trespasses against Thee.'


'O God we serve Thee, and to Thee do we pray, and Thee do we worship; we hasten to Thee; we strive after Thee; we hope for Thy pity, and we fear Thy punishment. Truly, Thy punishment overcomes the unbelievers.'

These may have been simple prayers, written on the margin of a Qur'an, but it is not clear whether this is the case or not. The oldest book in which Nöldeke found them is one written in the fifth century of the Hijra. They are taken from the codex of Ubai. Nöldeke considers them to be authentic.2 The second Sura of these two, it is said, should be placed in the Qur'an after the words of Sura Yunus (x) 10, 'Glory be to Thee, O God, and their salutation therein "Peace."' There are expressions in these Suras not found in the authorized Qur'an, e.g., ��BFأ< and 6�@X. Then � is not آ@��constructed with the accusative, but with ب Again ��d� in the sense of trespass does not take the accusative.

The objection is taken to these Suras that in them man addresses God and not God man; but Sura al-Fatiha (i) is similar in style, and in any case the word ,�- 'say,' may be understood, so this objection has no weight. According to

1 See Raudatu's-Safa, Part ii, vol. iii, p. 166. 2 Sketches from Eastern History, p. 53.

DISAPPROVAL OF 'UTHMAN'S RECENSION 15

the Traditions these prayers seem to have been known in early times.

Ibn Mas'ud's copy omitted Sura al-Fatiha (i) Sura al-Falaq (cxiii) and Sura an-Nas (cxiv). 'Ali's copy of the Qur'an is said to have been arranged chronologically, Sura al-'Alaq (xcvi) being put first; but as the copy is not extant, it is impossible to say whether this account is correct or not. The copy possessed by 'Ayesha is said to have been arranged in a different order from the one made by Zaid. Other copies joined together Suras xciii. and xciv. but they have all disappeared.

The most serious opponent of 'Uthman's text was ibn Mas'ud, a companion of the Prophet and a great theologian. Ibn Mas'ud refused to give up his copy of the Qur'an to the President of the Revision Committee and thus incurred the anger of the Khalifa, by whom he was publicly chastised. He died a few days after from the effects of the beating he had received.[1] This unnecessary and cruel act on the part of the Khalifa was disapproved of by his contemporaries, and has ever since been looked upon by the Shi'ahs as an atrocious crime. But notwithstanding the number of enemies 'Uthman had, his Qur'an held its ground, and as any valid cause of opposition would have found eager partisans, we must assume from the general acceptance given to it, that it was looked upon as genuine. By far the most serious objection to it is that made by the Shi'ahs, though there is no good historical evidence that 'Ali or his followers in the earliest period ever rejected 'Uthman's book. The charges made against him are of much later date, and though their historical value may not be great, they cannot be entirely overlooked. No doubt some copies of the Qur'an were preserved by their owners in spite of the Khalifa's orders that all should be destroyed. A Shi'ah tradition records that the Prophet said, 'O 'Ali! Truly the Qur'an delivered to you is written in fragments on pieces of silk and of skin; collect them, but do not act as the Jews did with the Book of the Law.' 'Ali said that he received this copy covered up in a yellow cloth, and read it to the Prophet in his house.

This was why, according to Shi'ah tradition, 'Ali said the Qur'an ought to be kept in his family. When 'Umar asked him to lend his copy in order that other copies might be compared with it, he refused, saying that the Qur'an he possessed was the most accurate and perfect, and could not be

[1 See page 9 where the author references Journal Asiatique , Décembre 1843, p. 385.]


submitted to any changes and alterations which might be found necessary in the other copies. He said that he intended to hand down his copy to his descendants to be kept until the advent of the Imam Mahdi.1 Assuming that this tradition is correct, the question naturally arises as to how it was that 'Ali did not get his own copy recognized as the one and only authorized book. The reply is that, in the troublous times in which he lived, he had neither the leisure nor the opportunity to convince the Muslims who supported his rivals that they had been unjustly dealt with, nor could he circulate his own copy of the Qur'an without calling in all of 'Uthman's copies and this was an act he dared not venture on. It would have simply increased the already existing dissensions and have hastened his downfall, so he left the matter alone. After the assassination of 'Ali, his sons Hasan and Husain were subjugated by Mu'awiya, and outwardly, at least, acknowledged the authorized Qur'an as the true one, and said that the Faithful should use it as it was, without any regard to other passages or fragments regarded by some of their followers as intrinsic portions of the true text. In secret, however, they assured their partisans that the complete Qur'an would remain concealed until the appearance of al-Mahdi, the last Imam, at the close of the present dispensation.

According to Shaikh Abu Ja'faru'l-Qumi their case stood thus:2 'We believe that the Qur'an given to the Prophet is contained within its covers, and is now found in use. The number of Suras is generally acknowledged to be one hundred

1 Journal Asiatique , Décembre, 1843, p. 387. In the Randatu's-Safa a long letter from 'Ali to

Mu'awiya is quoted in which 'Ali says: 'the Prophet honoured me by revealing several verses concerning me, thus elevating the banners of favour over my head.'—Part ii, vol. iii, p. 336.

ل ر1 ل اf e*> اe ;*�3 و-�<*C� 3� L3 ا��*;*; �ا[5*`ن �ن ا�+�إ hiم �� i �Nا� i�� (` وا�(jوa�� ?�Sا� j آ� �C�k ا��% د ا�� وا�+C�lE 8و j C�روا� ب اF i� 3C�d� <*; m*n�� F�� أة �@f ��5

.��3Cأر6Eي �X> أ;*�i� 3 :��3 و-ل 8

�6ا;�+د� �o*�$ i ا� 2�)$ 3�� <*; <�CE 3� :��4 ا��6 +��ن ا��aي أ�]�3 ا�*�$ f 4*> ا�*3 ;*�3 و��3 أ3� ه� $4 ذ�)pس ��? :^آBأ�6ي ا� i� 1 o*�$رو j �6B;رة و �ة 1�; �C:وأر �r$ �$C6 ا�B; <)2lح ووا�� أ��

� أ��و 1 رة وا6Xة E 1 رة وا6Xة -�h�u c�ف و آ� � أن�Bإ�� v�L� 4�$6ة وXرة وا 1 �: �ل وا��@�wن وا�� ا�+��xذب . ذ�) �% آ

Journal Asiatique , Décembre, 1843, p. 389.

SHI'AH OBJECTIONS 17

and fourteen, but according to our view Suras xciii and xciv form one; Suras cv and cvi also form one; Suras viii and ix1 form one, and he who attributes to us a Qur'an different from this is a liar.'

As already explained, the Shi'ahs defend the assent given to 'Uthman's recension by the assertion of their belief that the hidden parts will be made known to the whole Muslim world by Imam Mahdi. Still some of the more fanatic Mullas2 of the Shi'ah sect, hold that certain passages are even now authoritative, and charge 'Umar and 'Uthman with having suppressed or altered them. They describe the defects in the present Qur'an as due to:

(i) Omission of certain words and phrases.3

Thus, in Sura an-Nisa' (iv) 164, we read: 'God is Himself witness of what He hath sent down to thee concerning 'Ali;' in Sura al-Ma'ida (v) 71, 'O Apostle! proclaim all that hath been sent down to thee from the Lord concerning 'Ali;' in Sura an-Nisa' (iv) 136, 'Of a truth those who believed and then became unbelievers, then believed and again became unbelievers, and then increased their unbelief with regard to the family of Muhammad and their rights, it is not God who will pardon them'; and in Sura ash-Shu'ara (xxvi) 228, 'But they who treat them, the family of Muhammad and their rights, unjustly shall know what a lot awaiteth them.'

(ii) Alteration of verses or passages.

1 As the Bismillah is omitted before Sura at-Tauba (ix) some Sunnis also looked upon it as part of

the previous Sura. 2 The names are 'Ali bin Ibrahimu'l-Qumi; Muhammad bin Ya'qubu'l-Kulaini; Shaikh Ahmad bin

'Ali Talibu't-Tabrasi and Shaikh Abu 'Ali at-Tabrasi. — Journal Asiatique , Décembre, 1843, p. 405. 3 The parts said to have been omitted are printed in the Arabic given below, enclosed in brackets;

in the English text they appear in italics. أ�]ل إ��) �: 3 6%��)�i*; i(�49 ا�*

Sura an-Nisa' (iv) 164[166]. (#:� أ�]ل إ��) $4 ر$ o#*: ل 1�� أ�%2 ا�)i*; i�(

Sura al-Ma'ida (v) 71[67]. � آ@�وا�F ا B$� ��F وا�� آ@�F ا B$� 4�a�� ازدادوا آ@�ا إن� ا��F )+X 6�� 49� ا�*3 ��\@� �%�)%��ل $(��

Sura an-Nisa' (iv) 136[137]. ا �*{ 4�a�� ن)%��ل $(��X 6+(وC�1*� ا�*+B� v*+B$ � أي

Sura ash-Shu'ara (xxvi) 228[227].


In Sura Ali 'Imran (iii) 106, 'Ye are the best nation that hath been raised up unto mankind: ye enjoin the just and forbid the evil.' For 'nations' read 'Imams,' that is, for �� The Shi'ahs support their reading by saying that the description given of أ=�� read أ$the enjoining and the forbidding applies more correctly to the Imams as rulers than to a nation in its corporate capacity.

In Sura al-Furqan (xxv) 74, 'O our Lord! give us in our wives and offspring the joy of our eyes and make us examples to those that fear Thee.' For 'make us examples to those that fear Thee'— �$�+��4 إ$��*� �B*C�وا read 'make for us Imams, from those that fear Thee,'— ,Cا� B�$ 4 $ .that is, from 'Ali and his descendants ا��+�4 إ$

In Sura ar-Ra'd (xiii) 12, 'Each one has angels before him and behind, who watch over him by God's order.' The Shi'ahs read 'Each one has angels behind him and guardians (v�-ر) who watch over him by God's order.'

In Sura al-Hud (xi) 20, '(With such can they be compared) who rest upon clear proofs from their Lord; to whom a witness from him reciteth (the Qur'an) preceded by the Book of Moses, a guide and mercy.'1 The other reading is, 'To whom a witness from him a guide and mercy, reciteth (the Qur'an), preceded by the Book of Moses.'2 This witness, according to this reading, is the 'guide and mercy,' and is 'Ali who comes from him, that is, Muhammad. Thus it is not, as in the received text, the Book of Moses which is the 'guide and mercy.' One day after 'Ali had finished his sermon a member of the congregation said to him, 'which verse of the Qur'an refers to thee?' 'Ali replied, 'Hast thou not read the verse "who rest upon clear proofs from their Lord: to whom a witness, a guide and mercy, reciteth the Qur'an preceded by the Book of Moses."' This tradition is accepted by Imam Fakhru'd-Din Razi.3 The whole verse is a difficult one. It is a very good example of a mujmal verse, as it contains words, to which different meanings may be given.4 Some say that the 'who' is Muhammad or Jewish

ه3B#$ 6 و$4 -�*3 آ�ب $ 1> أ��4 آن ;*> :�# 1] j $إB� $#4 ر�:#3 و��*$��Xور . 2 <1 ورX�� و$4 -�*3 آ�ب $$ه3B#$ 6 إ$] j .و��*

3 Journal Asiatique , Décembre, 1842, p. 412. 4 Faith of Islam (3rd ed.), p. 74. 4 Faith of Islam (3rd ed.), p. 74.

THE SURA OF THE TWO LIGHTS 19

converts to Islam, or Muslims in general: that the 'clear proof' is the Qur'an or Muhammad, or the true religion; that the 'witness' is Muhammad or 'Ali or Abu Bakr, or the Qur'an or Gabriel, who came from Him (God) and recited the Qur'an to Muhammad. In this case 'Him' means God and not Muhammad.1

In Sura al-Muminun (xxiii) 39, 'There is no life beyond our present life; we die and we live and we shall not be quickened again.' The Shi'ahs say that the order must be inverted—'we live and we die.' 2

(iii) Verses defective in respect of their order.

Sura al-Baqara (ii) 58: 'He (Moses) said, "What, will ye exchange that which is worse for what is better? Get ye down into Egypt, for ye shall have what ye asked."' It is said that in the correct and true Qur'an these words were immediately followed by others, now found in Sura al-Ma'ida (v) 23: 'They said, "O Moses! Therein are men of might and verily we can by no means enter in until they be gone forth."'

In Sura al-Furqan (xxv) 6 the opponents of Muhammad say of the Qur'an, 'Tales of the Ancients hath he put in writing and they were dictated to him morning and evening.' It is said that in the original Qur'an these words were followed by a passage now found in Sura al-'Ankabut (xxix) 47, in which God says to Muhammad, 'Thou didst not recite any book (of revelation) before it; with that right hand of thine thou didst not transcribe one.'

But the most serious charge of all is that of the omission of a whole Sura, called the Sura an-Nurain, or 'Two Lights,' by which Muhammad and 'Ali are meant. It is as follows:


'O ye who believe, believe in the two lights we have sent down, who have recited our signs and warned you of the punishments of the Last Day. These two lights (proceed) the one from the other.3 Truly, I am the Hearer, the Knower.

1 Khulasatu't-Tafasir, vol. ii, p. 383; Baidawi, vol. i, p. 431; Tafsir-i Husaini, vol. i, p. 298. 2 i.e., for ت و�(�� read ت و��)�. 3 A reference to the Shi'ah interpretation of Sura Hud (xi) 20, according to which 'Ali proceeds

from Muhammad.


'For those who obey the orders of God and of His Prophet, for them, according to these verses, there is a Paradise of Delights; but those who disbelieve after they have believed, and who break their promise and that which the Prophet had stipulated for them, shall be cast into Hell.

'They who have injured their own souls and have been disobedient to the executor of the Prophet1 (i.e., 'Ali), they shall drink of the scalding water.

'Truly, God is He who gives light to the heavens and to the earth, and who chooses the angels, the prophets, and who makes believers; they are His creation, He creates what He wills: there is no God but He, the merciful and gracious.

'Truly, those who were before them have deceived their prophets. I have punished them for their deceit, and my punishment is severe and strong.

'Truly, God has destroyed 'Ad and Samud2 on account of what they did and has made them as a memorial to you, but ye did not believe. And He did the same with regard to Pharaoh for his opposition to Moses and his brother Aaron. He drowned him and all who followed him as a sign to you, yet most of you are perverse. Truly, God will gather them together in the day of resurrection, and they will not be able to answer when questioned: for them is the Hell, for God is knowing and wise.

'O Prophet! publish my warnings, perhaps they will follow them. In truth, they who turned from my signs and my orders have perished. As to those who keep thy covenant, I reward them with the Paradise of Delights. Truly, God is the pardoner and the great rewarder.

1 Ali is called fوiل .executor of the Prophet of God— اe ر12 The tribe of 'Ad dwelt to the north of Mecca and that of Samud near by. The prophet Hud was

rejected by the 'Adites and the prophet Salih by the Samudites. These men were probably Jewish teachers or Christian evangelists. The destruction of the tribes is referred to in Sura al-'Araf (vii) 71-77, and the Sura al-Fajr (lxxxix) 5-13. Muhammad attributed the disappearance of these tribes to supernatural causes, but a very simple explanation of the fact can be given. The Roman merchants, by opening up direct communication between the Indian Ocean and Suez, destroyed to a great extent the caravan trade of Arabia. Syria and Northern Arabia also became the arena of conflict between Persia and Byzantium. The whole country fell into disorder, cities were ruined and the people in large numbers returned to a wandering life and some tribes disappeared altogether. Muhammad made skilful use of a perfectly natural event to show how divine vengeance followed a people who rejected a prophet, and thus gave a warning to people who might be tempted to reject him.


'Truly, 'Ali is one of the pious men, and we will restore his rights to him at the Day of Judgment. We are not ignorant of the injustice done to Him. We have exalted him above all thy family, and he and his posterity are patient and his enemies are the chief of sinners.

'Say to those who have disbelieved after they had believed, "You have sought the glory of worldly life and have hastened to gain it, and have forgotten what God and His prophet promised you, and you broke the promises after a strict order about them." We have given you examples, perhaps, you may be guided.

'O Prophet! We have sent the manifest signs; in them are shown who will believe on him ('Ali) and who after thee will turn away from him ('Ali).

'Turn from them; certainly they turn aside and certainly We will summon them on the Day (of Judgment), when nothing shall avail them and no one shall pity them. Truly, there is a place for them in Hell and they shall not return. Praise the name of thy Lord and be of those who worship Him.

'Truly, we sent Moses and Aaron with what was needed and they rebelled against Aaron. Patience is good, so we changed them to monkeys and pigs,1 and have cursed them till the day of resurrection. Be patient, they will be punished. We have sent. thee an order, as we did to preceding prophets. We have appointed to thee a successor2 from among them: perhaps they will return. He who turns from my order, from him I will turn, they get but little benefit from their unbelief. Do not ask about those who break the law.

'O Prophet! We have made for thee a compact on the neck3 of those who believe; possess it and be of the number of those who are thankful.

'Truly, 'Ali is constant in prayer at night making the prescribed prostrations (sajidan), and he fears the Last Day and hopes for mercy from his God.

1 Sura al-Baqara (ii) 62; Sura al-Ma'ida (v) 65; Sura al-'Araf (vii) 166. In the first and third of these

references, the punishment is awarded on account of Sabbath breaking, in the second for the rejection of the scriptures. It is not in any way connected with Moses and Aaron. The orthodox leaders, therefore, hold this passage to be spurious and so the whole Sura to be void of any authority.

2 i.e., 'Ali 3 i.e., they must keep it.


'Say, how can those be compared who make tyranny, and those who know my troubles. They will place charms on their necks and they will repent of their works.

'We gave good news to thee of pious descendants, and they will not be disobedient; my peace and my mercy is on them, living or dead, and on the day when they shall rise again. My anger is on those who after thee transgress amongst them. Truly, they are a bad people and will wander from the right way; but those who go on in the way, on them is my mercy and they will be safe in the lofty rooms (of Paradise).

'Praise be to the Lord of both worlds. Amen.'

The following is the Arabic text of this Sura.

2 ر�4 Bرة ا� 1iBF4 ��أ وا�C:ر

4�X��L: ��X اe ا�� ا�

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��E

Mirza Kazim Beg, to whose researches we are indebted for a copy of this Sura in the original Arabic, does not believe in its genuineness. He looks upon it as a feeble imitation of the Qur'an, invented by a fanatical Shi'ah, after religious quarrels had absorbed the attention of the 'Ulama of the two rival sects. He says that there is no authentic tradition about it, that no author in the earlier centuries mentions it, and that the name al-Nurain—the two lights—in connexion with Muhammad and 'Ali was not heard of until the seventh century of the Hijra. He admits that it is quite possible that unimportant changes may have been made in the early recensions, but declines to believe that a whole Sura was discarded. Even assuming that 'Uthman did not wish that anything favourable to 'Ali should appear, it was not necessary to omit a whole Sura. The omission of a few phrases would have served his purpose just as well. He considers the whole chapter, with the exception of the words and expressions favourable to 'Ali and his family, to be simply a compilation from various parts of the Qur'an. Some words and phrases have been altered, some borrowed literally, and the result of the whole is that the style is very inferior to that of the Qur'an itself. This statement he supports by a comparison of expressions used in this Sura which are either exactly the same, or very similar to phrases found in the Qur'an.1

1 The following are some examples:

اB$� 4�a�� أ�%2 ا� Sura v. 59[57]; iE ان ;*��9 ��*�� Sura xxxviii. 59; [The clause is not in Qur'an, but we find (iE�� 9�*;) in

Suras. 6: 130; 7: 35. Cf. Nöldeke's GDQ, II, p 100-112, where the Sura of the TWO

LIGHTS is discussed] ;a; Sura xxxix.15[13]اب � م ;|��C�Bت ا��B� Sura xxi. 70; [This reference is incorrect, however this phrase is found in Suras 5:

65; 10: 9; 22: 56; 31: 8; 56: 12; 68: 34] �%L@ا أ� �*�{ Sura iv. 99 [64]; ��ء ;C@� Sura iii. 37 [40], ا�*3 $�%*�- 4$ 4�a�� ا�6 9$- Sura xvi. 28 [26]; ن+1�آ� �pأآ � ;Sura v. 55[59] وأن,�� N� Sura xii. 18; �ز�B��دة وا� $B%� ا�+B*C�و Sura v. 65 [60]; h�*- ه�� ا :9@C��*� Sura xxix. 66; 1�6ا ,��*�: ��- Sura xxxix. 12 [9]; 4�a�� ي ا�L� Sura xxxix.12 [9];

�%-B;أ i� لhxwا ,Cd�1 Sura xxxiv. 32 [33]; نB$� ت�� ;i� Sura xxxiv. 36 [37] ا�\4��C�3 رب# ا� .end of Sura xxxvii ا�(�6 �*

SHI'AH CLAIM UNTENABLE 25

M. Garcin de Tassy, in a foot-note to Mirza Kazim Beg's article, expresses the great joy he feels at the discovery of this unknown Sura,1 and he evidently considers that it is not to be lightly set aside. He thinks that there is nothing improbable in the idea that it was recited by Muhammad and that it formed part of 'Ali's copy; but he does not consider himself bound to uphold its authenticity, while on the other hand he declines to say that it is a forgery. He very properly sets aside Kazim Beg's argument with reference to the difference in style, and to the similarity of expressions in it and in the Qur'an, for, as he points out, in the Qur'an itself the repetitions of similar words and phrases in the various Suras are innumerable.2

On the whole, the weight of evidence seems to be against the Shi'ah claim. 'Ali and his followers were a powerful body during the Khalifate of 'Uthman; they must have known very well whatever the Prophet had said about 'Ali; and it is not easy to believe that, powerful as they were, they would have allowed 'Uthman to suppress all such passages. Then when 'Ali became Khalifa he could, if he had so willed, have produced his copy of the Qur'an. The passions raised by civil war were already so strong, that it is not likely that such an action as that would have so increased them as to lead to still further danger to the Khalifate. The fact is that the cult of 'Ali, a most curious and interesting phase of religious thought, is of very much later growth; and when it developed it needed all the support that these supposed revelations could give it.

1 Je suis charmé d'avoir appelé l'attention des orientalistes sur le chapitre du Coran inconnu jusqu'à

l'époque on je le publiai, l'an passé, pour la première fois.— Journal Asiatique , Décembre, 1843, p. 427.

2 Nöldeke agrees in the main with the criticism.—Geschichte des Qorāns, p. 222.


The way in which the various recensions were made, and the need of them show that the Qur'an is open to criticism, and that the orthodox view of inspiration needs to be very much modified, but do not prove that the present copies are not authentic. The conclusion arrived at by Muir, with which most scholars agree, seems to me sound and good. He says:1 'The conclusion, which we may now with confidence draw, is that the editions both of Abu Bakr and of 'Uthman were, not only faithful, but complete as far as the materials went; and that whatever omissions there may have been, they were not on the part of the compilers intentional. The real drawback to the inestimable value of the Qur'an, as a contemporary and authentic record of Muhammad's character and actions, is the want of arrangement and connexion which pervades it; so that, in inquiring into the meaning and force of a passage, no infallible dependence can be placed on the adjacent sentences as being the true context. But, bating this serious defect, we may upon the strongest presumption affirm that every verse in the Qur'an is the genuine and unaltered composition of Muhammad himself, and conclude with at least a close aproximation to the verdict of Von Hammer "That we hold the Qur'an to be as truly Muhammad's word, as the Muhammadans hold it to be the word of God."'

1 Life of Mahomet, vol. i, p. xxvi.

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The Recensions of the Qur'an · having added something to the Qur'an. He himself knew the verse,...

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